Sanitary and protective insert for footwear



Sept. 12, 1933. J. HERBERT SANITARY AND PRQTECTI'VE INSERT- FOR FOOTWEAR FiledJan. 11,1932

Iii/2019313 07 JaeobHeWbeiil Patented Sept. -12, 1933 PATENT OFFICE.

SANITARY AND PROTECTIVE INSERT FOR FOOTWEAR Jacob Herbert, Newton, Mass.

I Application January 11, 1932. Serial No. 585,815

3 Claims. (01. 36-44) My present invention relates to footwear and, more particularly, aims to provide, as a new article of manufacture, a sanitary absorbent and protective insert or insole adapted for use in shoes and other foot apparel, and which may be manufactured and distributed at a cost consistent with wear and discarding of a 'pair of such articles daily by any user.

In the drawing illustrating, by way of example, one embodiment of the invention,

Fig. l is a plan view of an insert or independent insole in accordance with one form of the invention;

Fig. 2 isa similar view of the fore part of the device of Fig. 1 with portions broken away to illustrate the construction of component parts; and

Fig. 3 is a cross-section approximately on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, upon an enlarged scale and with depth dimensions somewhat exaggerated for the sake of clearness in illustration.

As herein illustrated, the article of my present invention is in the form of a separate or independent insole-like device indicated as a whole by the numeral 4 in Fig. 1. This device, which I shall hereinafter refer to in its entirety as an insert, is shaped, constructed and arranged to be slipped into and to conform to a shoe, boot, slipper or other article of footwear, without positive attachment, so that it may subsequently readily be removed after its intended relatively brief period of use. The term shoe hereinafter will be understood to refer to any type of foot apparel. The inserts 4 are preferably but not necessarily 35 formed as rights and lefts, for use in pairs,

that of Fig. 1 being illustratedas for a left foot The insert as here shown is a three-ply article,

comprising a layer, core or body element 5 of suitable 'absorbent material, desirably in web 40 form, such, for example, as the fibrous absorbent sheet best seen in Figs. 2 and 3. Various cellulosic or other materials may be employed for the purpose such as paperamakers pulp, pulp board, blotter stock or the'like, desirably having a relatively high absorbent efiiciency, and of sufficiently close consistency or density to avoid dusting or scufling.

Above the absorbent layer 5, that is, at its face to be directed toward the wearers foot, I desirably provide a separating or semi insulating myer or element 6 formed with a multiplicity of perforations '1 of adequate size and number to perinit dampness from the wearers foot or stocking to pass or drain to the absorbent element but avoiding substantial direct contact of the stocking or foot therewith. This element 6 is preferably comprised of a relatively thin moisture-resistant or damp-proof sheet of fibrous or other material, such for example as a parchment paper, which I have found well suited to the purpose because of its relatively smooth and tough surface. Said perforate, foraminous and interruptedly protecting upper element 6 is adapted to serve in the general manner of a grid, affording absorptive action through it but 5 separating the foot from the absorbent itself,

It is adhesively or otherwise secured to the absorbent element 5, as by a suitable moisture-resistant or other adhesive, cement or the like. While a perforate'sheet member such as illustrated is deemed preferable, the upper surface of the absorbent element may be otherwise protected, as by spaced sections or areas interruptedly applied to or formed on said absorbent element.

At the lower or under face of the absorbent element 5 I preferably provide suitable moisturerepelling or proofing means which may be comprised as a separately applied element, or may be otherwise formed. In the illustrative embodiment of the figures I employ for the purpose a layer, sheet or web 8 of moisture-resistant or proofed material of fibrous or cellulosic character, such for example as a so-called kraft paper which has been impregnated, surface-treated or otherwise rendered damp-proof or resistant, as by the use of a rubber cement or by treatment 7 with latex or other rubber-like material or by a heat-resistant wax or paraflin of high melting point. Various other materials or means may be used for similarly resisting or excluding external moisture or dampness such as might enter a shoe'from below, through or about its sole, and for insulating the absorbent element 5 from the shoe itself, and in some instances the additional under layer may be dispensed with, in which case the absorbent element 5 may then have its own under surface treated or proofed to render it moisture-repellent or impervious. The under element 8 as herein illustrated is adhesively attached to the under face of the absorbent element 5 as by any suitable cement, glue or the like. The material of the several elements and par-- ticularly the upper element 6 and the lower element 8 and of any intermediate adhesive are desirably of a character not objectionably affected by the heat of the wearers foot.

The described inserts 4 may be quickly and inexpensively manufactured in large quantities. Preferably the stock or sheets from which their component parts are to be formed are superposed and secured together in relatively large blanks, and the inserts may be stamped, out or otherwise fashioned from such blanks, singly or in any convenient plurality at a time, a number of blanks generally being stacked. Rights and lefts may be oppositely disposed in any given row in the stock blanks, and thus closely adjacent each; other, so that but little trim or stock waste results.

In use, the article of my invention affords a "one-day insert to be placed between the wearers stqckinged foot and the sole of the shoe, for sanitary'and protective purposes. While these inserts are useful in any case as protection against outside dampness and cold, reducing the necessity for overshoes or rubbers, they are particularly beneficial for users who are subject to profuse or even normal foot perspiration. The main body. or element 5 serves to absorb and retain the excess foot moisture, which otherwise soils and is taken into the stocking, sock or the shoe. With the use .of my inserts both the shoe and the stocking or sock are themselves protected against the destructive action of such foot moisture, the shoe .sole being substantially insulated from it, so that the life of the shoe is distinctly prolonged. These inserts are also especially useful in golf or tennis shoes and other athletic footwear, and in slippers and the like such as are frequently furnished by hotels and clubs for successive use by more than one person, the inserts being so inexpensively manufactured and'sold, that they may be discarded after one wearing, thus tending. to prevent the spread .of epidermal phytosis or so-called athlete's foot and other skin contagions. In addition the inserts contribute to the comfort of the wearer, and afford a cushioning effect and protection against roughnesses, nail or stitch projections or other irregularities which may have developed in the shoe.

Referring again to the illustrated construction, while I have stated that the upper element 6 may be variously provided I consider a paper or paperlike material particularly suitable, as contrasted, for example, with a fabric, as a paper may readily be adhesively applied and excludes the adhesive from coming through into contact with the foot.

If desired, a deodorant and/or sterilizing or antiseptic medium may be incorporated in the insert, as by impregnating, spraying or otherwise medicating or treating the absorbent element with any of the various substances or compounds suitable for the purpose, such as bolus alba, stearateof zinc, iodoform, and others.

Having thus describedmy invention, it will be understood that it is not limited to the particular embodiment thereof herein illustrated and described, its scope being set forth in the following claims:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a.removable sanitary insert for a shoe or the like, for absorbing foot-moisture and protecting the shoe therefrom while insulating the foot as to both external moisture and external heat or cold from below, said insert comprising an absorbent sheet element of paper material shaped to conform to the inner surface ofaa shoe sole, a like-shaped overlyingperforate but moisture-resistant paper element secured to said absorbent element, and an imperforate, wholly moisture-repellent layer covering the under face of the latter.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a sanitary shoe insert designed for discarding after a single use, comprising a central absorbent sole-shaped element of fibrous blotter-like material, a substantially uniformly perforate, moisture-resistant fibrous parchment-like sheet covering the upper face of said absorbent element, and a relatively heavier moisture-proofed imperforate paper element at the under face of said absorbent element, said three elements being adhesively united.

3 A readily discardable sanitary insert for a shoe or the like, constructed and arranged for ab sorbing foot-moisture and protecting a shoe therefrom while cushioning the foot and insulate ing it against external moisture and heat exchange below the .foot, said insert comprising an absorbent, paper sheet element shaped to conform to the inner surface of a shoe sole, a likeshaped perforate but moisture-resistant layer overlying and secured to said absorbent element, and an imperforate, wholly moisture-repellent paper element secured at the under face of said absorbent element.

., JACOB HERBERT. 

